One would hope that the Carolina Hurricanes would get something like a lite version of what the Sedin twins have in pairing Eric Staal and Jordan Staal, but it turns out that isn’t quite as simple.

Instead, it’s been a learning process, as Eric told NHL.com that he spent most of his life competing against (rather than alongside) his brother Jordan.

“I’ve never played with him in my life,” Eric said. “Even on the outdoor rink we played against each other, so it’s not like I have anything to go on. I’ve watched him my whole life. I know his game, what he does, what he’s good at and what I’m good at, but we’re figuring it out as we go.”

The profile points out that the two have combined for 20 points since pairing up (Jordan in the middle, Eric moving to the wing) on Dec. 29. Eric remarked that “we’re a threat every night.”

After years of carrying depth linemates, it must be a luxury for Jordan to play with a partner as talented as his brother. It makes sense that his strategy is simply to get Eric the puck, then. Their size and skill remind their brother Marc Staal of playing against Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

It’s probably safe to say that it’s too late for the sibling pairing to be something opponents worry about (beyond being a spoiler threat), yet such comparisons have to give Carolina some much-needed hope for the future.

Eric Staal has made a career out of serving as a center, but recently the 30-year-old shifted to the left wing so that he could play on a line with his younger brother, fellow center Jordan Staal. That’s an arrangement Eric isn’t pushing to change.

“I’m having a lot of fun playing with Jordan,” the elder Staal said, per the News & Observer. “I’ve played center my whole life. It’s a different position on left wing, but when you’re playing with someone with his strengths, it balances and helps my game.”

Jordan didn’t make his season debut since Dec. 29 due to a fractured fibula, but his recent presence on the top line with his brother has been a big part of Carolina’s turnaround. The Hurricanes are 7-2-2 in January.

At the same time, shifting Eric Staal to the wing takes away Carolina’s potential one-two punch up the middle, which might be detrimental to the team in the long run. It also adds a new wrinkle as Eric edges closer to the expiration of his seven-year, $57.75 million contract in the summer of 2016.

Even with the Hurricanes’ recent run, their playoff hopes are all-but completely gone as they remain 18 points shy of the second Wild Card spot. Even still, if they stay hot in February, it might give GM Ron Francis cause to be conservative when selling assets over the deadline under the belief that this team is closer to contending than they appeared over the first half of the campaign.

“I’ve been here a long time,” Eric said. “It’s a place that I hold in my heart, and obviously if I was asked differently or it came to that, you cross those bridges when you come to them. As of right now, I’m a member of the Hurricanes and that’s what I’m hoping to be, but you never know what can happen as you move forward.”

• Carle leads the team in blocked shots (74) and ranks 3rd in TOI/G (20:34) in 46 games this season.

• D Radko Gudas (knee) was expected to miss 4 months at the time of his arthroscopic knee surgery at the beginning of January.

• Despite playing in just 31 games, Gudas leads TB in hits (115), and is 2nd in blocked shots (63).

• F Tyler Johnson (lower-body) did not participate in the skills competition or the All-Star Game, and though he practiced Monday, is still considered day-to-day.

• Johnson leads TB in assists (31) and points (48) and is 2nd in the NHL with a +26 rating this season.

TAMPA BAY TEAM/PLAYER NOTES

• Steven Stamkos had an assist in TB’s most recent game – a 4-1 win vs. VAN last Tuesday.

• With 26 goals this season, Stamkos trails league-leaders Tyler Seguin and Rick Nash (28 goals) by just two. Alex Ovechkin is 3rd in the NHL with 27 goals this season.

• The Lightning captain is a two-time winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy (NHL leading goal-scorer); he captured the title in 2010 (tied w/ Sidney Crosby) and in 2012 by himself.

• Career vs. CAR: 24 points (12G-12A) in 31 career games.

• Ryan Callahan, who signed a 6-year/$34.8 million contract extension with TB this summer through 2019-20, is on pace for a career season points-wise with 35 points in 43 games played so far.

• Callahan set his career-high with 54 points (29G-25A) in 2011-12 with the New York Rangers.

• He has 5 points (3G-2A) in his last 6 games.

• Alex Killorn scored twice against VAN for the first 2-goal game of his career.

• Nikita Kucherov is t-2nd on the team in goals (17), but he has gone 9 straight games without a goal (0G-6A).

• Kucherov leads the NHL with a +28 rating this season.

• Ben Bishop has started all 3 games during the Lightning’s win streak (3-0-0 record, 1.62 GAA, .951 SV%), and he ranks t-4th in the NHL with 24 wins this season. He has great numbers all-time vs. the Hurricanes…

• Career vs. CAR: 5-0-0 record, 1.19 GAA, .967 SV%, 2 SO.

CAROLINA TEAM/PLAYER NOTES

• Jordan Staal missed the first 35 games of CAR’s season (fractured fibula). The team’s offense — and overall record — has been much improved with him in the lineup this season.

• Jordan had 2 assists in the win vs. TOR, and he has 6 points (1G-5A) in 10 games overall since his return.

• Eric Staal has benefitted from Jordan’s return – he has 8 goals in the 11 games since Jordan returned on Dec. 29 (8G-1A). The two have been playing on the top line together.

• Eric had 2 goals – both assisted by his brother Jordan – in the game vs. TOR.

• Career vs. TB: 67 points (31G-36A) in 63 career games. The 31 goals are his most vs. any NHL opponent.

• Khudobin stealing the show: While veteran Cam Ward has started 31 of the team’s 46 games this season, Anton Khudobin is the hot goalie for Carolina of late.

• Ward has won just 3 of his past 14 starts (3-9-2 record, 2.42 GAA, .910 SV%) dating back to Dec. 7.

We mentioned last week that the Carolina Hurricanes, after a terrible start to the season, were beginning to play some pretty good hockey. And that’s continued in the time since, with two more wins in Ottawa and Toronto improving their record to 6-2-1 in January.

That also has one columnist at Raleigh’s News & Observer wondering if the ‘Canes are, you know, totally blowing it.

In the NHL, if you’re not going to be good, it’s far better to be very, very bad, especially in a year when there’s a generational prospect available with the No. 1 pick in the draft, which happens every three or four years or so. Connor McDavid may not be a household name yet for casual American hockey fans, but there’s a pretty good chance he will be for the next 15 years or so.

Since McDavid is available, with Jack Eichel not far behind in the No. 2 spot, it’s a really good year to be really bad, a far better time to be much worse than usual.
…

No one enjoys losing, and no one should, but a little short-term pain could pay huge long-term dividends for the Hurricanes. Anything else only leads to more of the same.

It’s worth noting that the ‘Canes, barring a miracle, still have a shot at winning the draft lottery. All they have to do is miss the playoffs.

But DeCock is right that their chances of landing McDavid or Eichel are growing worse. And unlike the Buffalo Sabres, who went on a run of their own in November and December, the ‘Canes, with Jordan Staal back in the lineup, are playing solid possession hockey, suggesting this may not just be a blip.